Cadillac Puts the Brakes on Diesel Production

October 30, 2018

The electric vehicle market is heating up with more and more carmakers embracing the technology. According to rumors, Cadillac recently shelved its diesel fuel vehicles in favor of focusing on electric. Steve Carlisle, the president of Cadillac, said, “We have been working on diesel, but the markets may be changing more quickly than we anticipated.”

The carmaker had at least two diesel engines in the works, one that was a four-cylinder engine while the other was a more powerful six-cylinder engine. Cadillac’s main focus for these engines was the European market, but they would have brought them to the U.S. as well. Early reports stated that Cadillac would be launching the XT4, which is a compact diesel SUV, within the next two years. This may still happen, but bringing out the diesel operated SUV is now on hold.

Cadillac ran into its first big diesel-related problem after Volkswagen experienced its diesel crisis in 2015. However, at the time, Cadillac continued working on the diesel engines even when Opel, the company’s creative partner, split from General Motors and was sold to manufacturers in France.

Now, Cadillac is planning to focus on electrification. The car company already has a plug-in hybrid available with the CT6 full-size luxury sedan. There are reports that Cadillac will expand this technology to the next generation of Escalade, CTS and others. The CT6 is the car company’s only electric car, but it is a fine one. With the CT6 plug-in hybrid, consumers get around 62 mpg-e with electric power and about 25 miles per gallon when the car is in gasoline mode. The all-electric range for the vehicle is 31 miles. It handles well for its size and the ride is smooth.

Plug-in hybrids are a good first step for car companies to make on their way to electric automobiles. Hybrids run mainly on electricity, but they include the option of gas to increase driver confidence that their vehicle will be able to get them where they’re going.

GM is Cadillac’s parent company, and it’s commonly seen as a leader when it comes to advanced battery technology. GM has labs in China, Germany and the U.S. with the American one being the largest lab that is developing vehicle batteries in the United States, showing how much the company is interested in electric technology.

The future of diesel-operated vehicles in the U.S. is uncertain. Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Mercedes have stopped selling them in the United States. Consumers can still get vehicles that operate on diesel fuel since BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Mazda still make them. But, as carmakers continue improving electric cars with longer ranges and better technology, the market will shift with more of them on the road.